Air New Zealand looks to AI to reduce food waste

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | Airlines spend a lot of money on inflight catering. But the sad reality is that so much of that food goes to waste. Trying to reduce that wastage is also a delicate balancing act between service standards and sustainability. But beyond counting which dishes are most popular and adjusting future loads to match, what else can be done? For Air New Zealand, there’s a lot of potential with AI.

The carrier is already using advanced technology within its catering centre in Auckland. After a flight lands, all galley carts are processed through the centre, as normal. But unlike a typical catering setup, Air NZ has cameras and algorithms scanning everything that’s coming off the plane.

Based on that analysis, the airline gets an automatic record of how many meals came back completely uneaten. By extension, it can also see which dishes are most popular, and quickly adjust typical load sheets to suit. But there’s even more happening with AI.

For instance, the systems have been trained to detect how much of each dish has been eaten, giving automated feedback on portion sizing. The software can also detect other patterns, such as if one particular ingredient keeps being left on the plate by passengers, destined for landfill.

With this constant flow of data, Air New Zealand can make swift decisions on how to cater future flights. And to keep adjusting its offerings even as menus change. To learn more about what’s happening in this space, I catch up with Leanne Geraghty at the recent CAPA Airline Leader Summit. Geraghty is Air New Zealand’s Chief Customer and Sales Officer, who’s visiting Brisbane for the conference.

Air New Zealand’s use of AI

It’s a great concept, using technology to help reduce waste. And let’s be honest, less waste means cost savings for the airline’s bottom line as well – it’s a win-win. But how exactly do Air New Zealand’s AI systems work on the ground in the catering centre?

‘Literally as the carts come in and they unload the trays, there are cameras that are scanning everything on those trays,’ Geraghty says. ‘It’s to the point where it determines what is not touched, what is half or partway consumed, and then what is fully consumed.’

‘Once it’s all scanned, the AI runs a whole lot of analytics. It puts out a report to us. (This) enables us to kind of go, okay, customers clearly have a preference not to eat that, or they’re not enjoying that part of the meal offering. So we can change up pretty quickly what we’re putting on board for people. (It’s) helping us determine what customers do want to eat and what they don’t want to eat. There’s that element of customer experience.’

‘And then the other part is waste, obviously (it’s) hugely beneficial in terms of helping us avoid wastage. We can really zero in, understand our customer preferences and design service offerings around that.’

‘The results have been incredibly positive,’ Geraghty continues. But she’s quick to stress that ‘obviously, (we’re) incredibly careful with how we use (AI). That’s why we’ve taken a relatively, I would say, conservative approach to it all.’

Using AI outside of catering

Beyond monitoring food consumption, Air New Zealand is also actively using AI behind the scenes. The goal isn’t just to provide cost savings, but also to provide a better customer experience. Particularly when it comes to turnaround times on customer requests.

The Kiwi carrier is now using it ‘from a cargo perspective. We’ve been able to speed up the way in which we answer customer inquiries around the movement of cargo.’ Regarding Air NZ’s customer contact centre more broadly, ‘one in five of those service conversations is using AI to assist, and the team love it. So we’ve actually put that into production now and it’s rolled out across both internal teams and partners in that space.’

Despite the broader adoption of AI, Air New Zealand is still mindful that it’s in the business of humans serving humans. ‘How we present in market is very, very important to us as an airline. We have our own unique personality. We put that human layer over the top of it,’ when using AI. ‘But you get efficiencies from cost savings, waste reduction, loads of great outcomes.’

Oh, in case you hadn’t guessed, the infamous talking duck in Air New Zealand’s many TV commercials over the years isn’t real. ‘Marketing is another area that we’re using quite a lot (of AI) in terms,’ particularly in terms of ‘trying to develop ways in which we can speed up the marketing campaign set up.

However, it seems that minimising wastage is one of the more significant focuses of the airline’s AI adoption. ‘The AI for food waste is incredible, because it tells us down to what meals are (leftover), how much of (others) is eaten, and what’s untouched on the tray.’ For an airline, having almost real-time feedback on what’s popular, what’s disliked, and what’s surplus means keeping customers happy—and, yes, the bottom line.

Also read: Virgin Australia gets green light for Air New Zealand partnership

Imagery courtesy of Air New Zealand. Chris Chamberlin attended the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Brisbane as a guest of CAPA Centre for Aviation.